1. Field
The information disclosed in this patent relates to a device to adjust tension that a safety shoulder belt may apply against an upper portion of a restrained persons' body.
2. Background Information
A seat belt, sometimes called a safety belt, may be viewed as a harness configured to hold in place the occupant of a car or other vehicle if a collision occurs or, more commonly, if the vehicle stops suddenly. Seat belts are intended to reduce injuries by stopping the wearer from hitting hard interior elements of the vehicle or from being thrown from the vehicle. In cars, seat belts also prevent rear-seat passengers from crashing into those in the front seats.
Many driver side and passenger side seat belts have a single webbing that forms both a lap belt portion and a shoulder belt portion. Typically, the shoulder belt retracts from tension and presses against the chest and shoulder of the driver. This causes discomfort and chafing to the shoulder belt wearer. In addition, pressure from the shoulder belt causes unsightly wrinkling and creasing of clothes. Statistics have shown that fifty-one percent of drivers who dread the uncomfortable pressure of a seat belt will very often not wear one.
What is needed is a device to adjust tension in a shoulder belt.